BILBAO, Spain (AP) — UEFA's Executive Committee on Wednesday approved an unprecedented qualifying system for the 2028 European Championship, with hosts England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland participating in the preliminaries.
The four teams will be drawn separately into the 12 qualifying groups, with the winners and the eight best runners-up advancing directly to the final tournament that will be held across nine venues in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Two spots in the final 24-team tournament will be reserved for the best-ranked host nations who did not qualify as group winners or best runners-up. The remaining berths will be assigned through playoffs between the other runners-up in the qualifying groups and the best ranked non-qualified group winners in the 2026-27 Nations League.
Depending on the number of berths used by the host nations, the number of final tournament spots decided by the playoffs may vary between two and four, UEFA said.
The tournament schedule is expected to be released later this year.
The Executive Committee met just ahead of the Europa League final between Manchester United and Tottenham in Bilbao.
A decision on the hosts for the 2027 Champions League final and the 2027 Women’s Champions League final was set to take place on Wednesday. But it has been postponed “for operational reasons” until the next Executive Committee meeting in September.
The committee also approved an increase in the number of players who can be registered by teams in this year's Nations League finals from 23 to a maximum of 26, “considering the dynamics of the end of season as well as an increase in activities over the summer of 2025.”
On the club benefits program, UEFA said that for the next cycle linked to Euro 2028, 240 million euros ($272 million) will be distributed in accordance with the memorandum of understanding between UEFA and the European Club Association. UEFA said 7 million euros ($7.9 million) remains available for distribution from the previous club benefits cycle.
After a proposal from the ECA, UEFA said that it was agreed to shift 3 million euros ($3.4 million) of the leftover from the 2020-24 cycle to the club benefit program for Women’s Euro 2025, increasing its size from 6 million euros ($6.8 million) to 9 million euros ($10.2 million).
The club benefits program is the clubs' share of the Euros revenue. It's the daily rate UEFA pays to clubs whose players are called up to national teams. It was created in 2008 to recognize the newly-launched ECA as a more democratic representative of teams’ interests.
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Manchester United players visit the pitch ahead of the Europa League final soccer match against Tottenham Hotspur at the San Mames Stadium in Bilbao, Spain, Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
MIAMI (AP) — Anfernee Simons scored 18 of his season-high 39 points in the fourth quarter, Jaylen Brown added 27 and the Boston Celtics trailed most of the way before rallying to beat the Miami Heat 119-114 on Thursday night.
Sam Hauser added 17 points for the Celtics, who outscored Miami 36-21 in the fourth quarter and won after facing as much as a 19-point deficit. It was their second-biggest comeback win of the season, after coming from 20 down to beat Indiana on Dec. 22.
Simons had the second highest-scoring game for a reserve this season — Utah's Brice Sensabaugh had 43 on Wednesday night in a loss to Chicago — and became the fourth Celtics player in the last 50 years to score at least 39 off the bench. The others: Larry Bird, Todd Day and Payton Pritchard.
Norman Powell scored 26 points for Miami, which got 22 points apiece from Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro. Andrew Wiggins added 16 for the Heat.
Simons had 11 consecutive Boston points in the fourth quarter to chip away at what was left of the Miami edge, and then Hauser got an open 3-pointer with 5:21 left to give the Celtics their first lead since the opening minute of the game.
The lead changed hands twice more, before Brown's 3-pointer with 4:05 remaining put Boston on top for good.
Miami started the game on a 28-9 run, putting the Celtics in a most unusual early position.
That 19-point margin — only about seven minutes into the game — matched the biggest first-quarter deficit the Celtics faced in a 304-game span since trailing Indiana by 20 early on in a game on Dec. 21, 2022. Boston also trailed Milwaukee by 19 in the first quarter on April 9, 2024.
The Heat played without starting point guard Davion Mitchell (left shoulder contusion) and sixth man Jaime Jaquez Jr. (left knee soreness).
Celtics: At Atlanta on Saturday night.
Heat: Host Oklahoma City on Saturday night.
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA
Boston Celtics guard Anfernee Simons, center, is defended by Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Boston Celtics guard Anfernee Simons (4) comes under pressure from Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Boston Celtics guard Anfernee Simons (4) goes for the basket defended by Miami Heat center Kel'el Ware, obscured, during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Miami Heat guard Norman Powell (24) reacts after making a shot during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Boston Celtics, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra watches from courtside during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Boston Celtics, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
